her brains too. The great thing about a smart woman is you can count on her to have a rational, thoughtful take on things, instead of a big uncomfortable emotional outburst. She’d never throw a pointy stiletto at my head while she bawls her eyes out over me like some women. Mallory.
At the same time, I turned Chloe down for a good reason. Walking away from her that night was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
Still, I find myself wondering how she’s doing. I looked up how to get into Harvard Medical School. Did she do well on the MCAT? (That’s the med school admissions test.) Is she happy? Is she single?
Not my business.
I get off the sofa, restless. It’s a sunny June day. I should go for a run, burn up some calories in anticipation of drinking at a bar tonight. I’ll see who’s around to go out later. I grab my sneakers from the bedroom, sit on the end of the bed, and lace up. Strange how unappealing the bar pickup scene’s been recently.
I open the front door and jog downstairs just as someone’s coming up with a pile of boxes stacked higher than their head. It’s definitely a woman judging by the small hands.
“Lemme help you with that,” I say.
She halts and peeks around the boxes. “I got it.”
I freeze. Her hair is blond, but I know that face. Those green eyes, her fine features, the bow in her top lip. “Chloe?”
“Brendan?”
“What’re you doing here?” we say at the same time.
I laugh. “I live here.”
“Me too. Just for the summer.”
I take the top two boxes off the pile, leaving her with one, and head back upstairs. “Second or third floor?”
“Second.”
Adrenaline fires through me. That’s where I live. There’s four apartments on the second floor, and my next-door neighbors, a couple, just left yesterday to spend the summer at his family’s home in Italy. Chloe is moving in right next door to me.
Holy hell.
Questions race through my mind—how did she end up my neighbor? What’s she doing this summer? Does she remember that kiss?
“Did you know I lived here?” I ask.
Her brows shoot up. “No. Sara arranged for the apartment for me. The couple went to Italy for the summer.”
“Yeah, that’s the Malones.”
How am I supposed to resist temptation when she’s right there?
I remind myself why I resisted her in the first place. Our family connection. It’s probably how she ended up here. My cousin Phillip is the one who let us know about this building. The owner is a friend of his. Phillip knows just about everyone as the UN Ambassador for Clean Water. I bet Sara found out about the open apartment through her husband, who asked his brother.
This is bad. I can’t be the reason there’s another fallout between the Villroy and Brooklyn Rourkes. It would kill my dad not to be welcome in his kingdom. When you’re raised to be king, the kingdom is everything.
I stop in front of her door and wait for her to unlock it. “I live right next door.”
She keeps her focus on the door, but I don’t miss the way her entire body tenses. “Small world.”
“It’s the family connection. Phillip told us about this building. That’s probably where Sara heard about it.” I follow her in and set the boxes down inside. She sets her box next to them, takes her laptop off her shoulder, and lays it on top of the light wood coffee table.
I rub my hands together. “Anything else?”
“Just my suitcase.”
“I got it.” I head down and grab a large black wheeled suitcase from where she left it in the foyer. I can’t believe she’s living right next door to me. Do I ignore her? But what if she wants to hang out as friends like we did in Villroy? I can’t be rude if she asks, especially after I rejected her kiss. I so wanted to follow through. This is what happens when you do the right thing. It bites you in the ass later. You thought that was a test of willpower? How’s this?
I push open her unlocked door and set her suitcase inside. This is a one-bedroom apartment, and I happen to know her bedroom shares a wall with mine. Let’s just say I’ve heard the mattress next door creaking with newlywed action. I had to get earplugs.
Chloe looks around the place, seeming pleased. It’s cozy with a beige upholstered sofa, a couple of curved wooden chairs, and assorted wood tables. There’s a